Arts abound as crowds come Celebrate Poland

By Sean Barron

An interest in art helped boost one teenager’s self-confidence, her mother said.

POLAND — When 13-year-old Miranda D’Apolito chose a song, it came not out of the Justin Timberlake or Jessica Simpson songbooks, but from one more than 40 years older: the Beatles.

“It was an easy song to learn and fit my vocal range,” explained Miranda, referring to her decision to sing the group’s popular song “Let it Be” as part of a two-day Celebrate Poland program at or near the Village Hall. “I like that style of music.”

Miranda, a Poland Middle School eighth-grader, tested her singing prowess in Saturday’s four-hour Poland Idol competition, based loosely on the popular TV show “American Idol.”

She was one of about 25 contestants who took part in the event, which was broken into categories based largely on elementary, middle and high school grades.

Participants earned up to 50 points, with a three-judge panel giving scores based on diction, presentation, style, pitch and phrasing.

First-place finishers received one-hour sessions at The Kontinuous Jams Media Group, a Boardman recording studio.

Other numbers chosen to entertain the audience included contestants’ interpretations of “Young and Beautiful” by Carrie Underwood and Sheryl Crow’s “Sweet Child of Mine.”

Anyone walking on nearby Elm Street couldn’t help but be struck by the sidewalk, which was converted to an elongated easel used by chalk drawing enthusiasts such as 15-year-old Theresa Sinclair of Boardman, who put together a colorful combination of literature sleuth Sherlock Holmes and the Joker, the flamboyant villain from the Batman series.

Art was not among Theresa’s passions, but after taking the subject for a semester as a Canfield High School freshman, and getting a bit of encouragement from her mother, her interest and self-confidence grew.

“I had the most amazing teacher,” the teen said. “He taught me to look at it as lines, not the whole picture.”

“She needed something she could be proud of. This helped her tremendously,” added her mother, Mary Sinclair.

Around 40 people had one square of sidewalk each to expand their creativity and were judged for their final result, a few organizers said.

Another part of the festivities was a seven-hour crafts show, with roughly 16 vendors selling a variety of merchandise such as scented candles, stained-glass night lamps and other items, pottery, children’s books, beads and bracelets, creams and lotions, and watercolor paintings by local artist Suzanne L. Brown of Canfield, who taught art for 32 years before retiring from Austintown Fitch High School.

Also available was children’s art done in acrylics by Brown’s husband, Larry, an antique dealer who collects vintage games and designs boxes to house them.

The main purpose of Celebrate Poland was to “celebrate small-town America,” including the village, noted Barbara Banks, who, along with Mary Alice Fedor, organized the arts and crafts show. This was the first year that part was included, both women noted.

The celebration wrapped up with performances by Second Chance, a local band, and an outdoor movie next to the Poland branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.